Mauricio Sierra:
All in all, the findings of this and previous studies seem to suggest the existence of true cultural effects, which would seem to make depersonalization a rarer occurrence in Asian and Latin American countries as compared to Western Europe and North America.
...
In view of the fact that depersonalization entails an anomalous experience of the self, we have previously hypothesized that cultural influences on how the self is construed, may be of relevance to explain prevalence differences across cultures...
...
For example, an interesting study compared European American and Chinese children on the content of their autobiographical memories and self descriptions elicited by means of open-ended questions. It was found that, whilst American children "often provided elaborate and detailed memories focusing on their own roles, preferences, and feelings; they also frequently described themselves in terms of personal attributes, abstract dispositions, and inner traits in a positive light. Chinese children provided relatively skeletal accounts of past experiences that centred on social interactions and daily routines, and they often described themselves in terms of social roles, context-specific characteristics, and other behaviours in a neutral or modest tone"
...
Our findings suggest that, as compared with collectivistic societies, subjects
from individualistic cultures are likely to experience more 'fear of loss of
control' and 'depersonalization' during panic attacks. Interestingly enough, it
has been found that individuals from individualistic societies are more 'selfabsorbed'
and have a more externalized locus of control, which makes them
more sensitive to threat, to feelings of alienation and of not being in control...
All in all, the findings of this and previous studies seem to suggest the existence of true cultural effects, which would seem to make depersonalization a rarer occurrence in Asian and Latin American countries as compared to Western Europe and North America.
...
In view of the fact that depersonalization entails an anomalous experience of the self, we have previously hypothesized that cultural influences on how the self is construed, may be of relevance to explain prevalence differences across cultures...
...
For example, an interesting study compared European American and Chinese children on the content of their autobiographical memories and self descriptions elicited by means of open-ended questions. It was found that, whilst American children "often provided elaborate and detailed memories focusing on their own roles, preferences, and feelings; they also frequently described themselves in terms of personal attributes, abstract dispositions, and inner traits in a positive light. Chinese children provided relatively skeletal accounts of past experiences that centred on social interactions and daily routines, and they often described themselves in terms of social roles, context-specific characteristics, and other behaviours in a neutral or modest tone"
...
Our findings suggest that, as compared with collectivistic societies, subjects
from individualistic cultures are likely to experience more 'fear of loss of
control' and 'depersonalization' during panic attacks. Interestingly enough, it
has been found that individuals from individualistic societies are more 'selfabsorbed'
and have a more externalized locus of control, which makes them
more sensitive to threat, to feelings of alienation and of not being in control...
